Canon vs Nikon again but specific

Ok, obviously tossed around a bit and I am still torn. I feel for a newbie that IS or VR are important. So I have come down to Nikon D80 body with Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens or The Can EOS 40d with the kit 28 -135mm lens with IS.
Its killing me. Any more specific thoughts would really help before I try to buy this weekend.
Seems dumb but I really like the dust feature on the Canon. I used to take pictures on a camera my grandfather left me and it had a dust issue.

Thanks gang,
David Ortiz

If IS or VR is important, why not consider the makes that have in-body IS ?
Olympus and Pentax have the dust removal, and the shake reduction.

Sorry to widen it, but if it's important it's worth considering the alternatives.

Oh man, I just got familiar with these lenses etc. It cant be Olympus. I bought apoint and shoot 780 and hate it. Pictures, quality and service with an issue. I will never own their product again.
Pentax, K10? I think? I will have to look at lenses. So this means every lens gets the stabilty becuase its in the body?

Thanks

[QUOTE=SmartWombat]If IS or VR is important, why not consider the makes that have in-body IS ?
Olympus and Pentax have the dust removal, and the shake reduction.


Or Sony, with a Tamron 18-250 mm? The body stabilization gives you about 3 stops for the A100 and it's been improved on the A700. A100 uses the same sensor as the Nikon D80. The only problem with the A100 is the grain at ISO 800-1600.

Here's a test done by popular photography about stabilization: http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/4615...ort-page2.html

The D80 with 18-200 is a complete solution going from wide-angle to long telephoto in one go (equivalent of a 28mm to 300mm in film terms). I find that this is enough for 99% of my needs. Dust is not likely to be much of a problem because you never change lenses.

The 40D+28-135 is missing the wide-angle and long tele views. It's the equivalent of a 45mm to 210mm in film terms. I find I use the 28mm equivalent all the time when I'm on holidays, for interiors, buildings, etc. Also the 28-135mm is an aging designed-for-film lens - not the ideal match for a 10Mpix DSLR sensor which requires excellent resolution and low chromatic aberration.

For me there's no contest - the 40D+28-135 is not a good combination.

(Puzzled about the 28-135 being a kit lens - are you sure you don't mean the 17-85mm? This would make more sense)

One thing to think about is if your camera has the stabilization in it and it goes out you send the camera in to be fixed and you can't shoot untill you get it back. If the stabilization goes out on a lens you send it in and you keep on shooting with another lens. I think a camera warranty is usually much shorter than a lens warranty also. I'm not trying to tell you which is the better option, that's your choice, but it is something to consider.

I plan on ordering a Nikon D80 and a 18 to 200 VR lens Friday. I have been a Nikon fan for about 37 years, Jeff

You might want to take a look here BEFORE YOU ORDER!!!
http://forums.photographyreview.com/...ad.php?t=37380

Some people think that Nikon and Canon will be forced to offer sensor-based VR / IS in their consumer DSLRs sometime in the near future, because everyone else does. I'm not saying that will happen, because as far as I know there have been no official announcements, but it's something to consider. Whatever brand you buy now you will probably want to stick with when you upgrade in a few years.

Paul

(Puzzled about the 28-135 being a kit lens - are you sure you don't mean the 17-85mm? This would make more sense)

Maybe just added but yes available at quite a few places together.

Cheers,

Dave O,

Well my gut feeling was Nikon. Every picture i took with my 3 gig point and shoot I loved. Sounds like the lens combination is going to mee my needs.
Thanks for the link on the forum. Looks like adorama is the way to go. Nikon D80, 18-200 VR lens, SB600... I guess I need a very basic tripod for the family Xmas shot, anything else?

Thanks again,

Dave O.